The following day Gokudera found Vero late in the morning to guide him to a library or study of sorts for his lesson. There the storm guardian taught his student everything he knew on rings, box weapons and box animals.

The young Cavallone boss managed to understand it all within the time they had before lunch and after he was supposed to continue his training with Hibari, but the cloud guardian had been unexpectedly called out to take care of some urgent matters.

It took him about two days to do so, so in that time Vero would train by himself to further hone the skills he'd learned so far. It wasn't as burdensome or difficult on him, but that all changed with the practical application of his lessons on flames.

"Alright, now that we've finished reviewing everything and you know how it all works," Gokudera stated proudly to his student who had passed the small quiz he had given at the start of their lesson. "Let's see if you can produce a flame."

He then pulled an A-rank sky ring out of his pocket and placed it on the table in front of the blonde. Vero nodded in response and picked it up to slip onto his right middle finger. He stared at it almost in awe for a moment before slowly closing his hand into a fist.

He then brought to mind what he was thinking the day he cut Hibari with his flames of resolve, hoping that would set the ring aflame but nothing happened.

The young Cavallone sat, utterly confused for a minute but he didn't want to give up. He continued to try a few more times but there was still no sign of a flame.

'Still nothing…' he thought with a defeated sigh. 'But I swear I ignited a flame when fighting Hibari-san! What happened to it…?'

At this point Gokudera had noticed how frustrated his student was getting and spoke up, providing him with some words of encouragement. "Hey, don't worry if you can't get it in the first try."

Vero stopped what he was doing but was still gazing disappointingly at the flameless ring.

"You know, Juudaime had trouble setting his flames of resolve alight too." The storm guardian suddenly commented and the blonde instantly turned to him with a surprised expression. "Hard to believe, I know." - he cracked a smile - "It took him a while but with his friends' encouragement and a push from Reborn he eventually realized his true resolve. The flames just naturally took shape afterward."

"So…I might be having the same problem?" The young Cavallone boss asked slowly.

"It's possible. I'm sure you'll figure it out in due time. I suggest you wear the ring from now on though, just in case."

Their lesson was then concluded as they broke for lunch, but Vero once again had to train by himself as Hibari was back but had some loose ends he still needed to attend to. During his self training at regular intervals he would try to ignite the rings but he had no such luck. He eventually gave up and turned in for the night, hoping the next day he would make some progress.

Luckily he got such an opportunity when his training with the cloud guardian resumed, but this time the raven haired man had enrobed his tonfa in cloud flames. He also wasn't holding back at all this time.

"I get called away for a few days only to come back and see you've somehow gotten weaker than you were before." Hibari stated, standing over his student he had knocked back onto the floor. "Where is that desperation you had before? Where is that resolve you cut me with?"

Vero shot him a shocked gaze which caused him to conclude aloud, "So, you've been having trouble with it. I figured as much, considering it was such a weak flame to begin with."

"Trust me, I've been trying as hard as I can!" The young Cavallone boss argued. "But I haven't been able to produce any at all!"

"What do you consider your resolve to be?" The cloud guardian suddenly asked.

Vero paused, getting lost in his thoughts for a moment before giving up with a shrug and saying, "I…guess I've just been thinking of those dear to me and how I want to protect them."

"Apparently that's not strong enough." Hibari replied instantly with a firm tone. "There is obviously something stirring inside you that was strong enough to cut me." - he shifted into his battle stance - "And I'll force it out of you again if I have to."

Vero did the same as the two of them then continued to clash. Within minutes the blonde was once more driven to exhaustion from dodging his mentor's attacks and managed to dodge one more before his back hit a wall.

He flinched but didn't have the time to escape or panic, as Hibari was already rushing at him to get another attack in. The young Cavallone boss quickly ducked to the side, eyes widening when he happened to see the wall where he was cracked and broke from the impact.

'That could've been my head!' He thought with shock.

Hibari seemed to know what his student would do however, as he used the momentum to then turn and strike him. The hit landed, getting Vero square in the chin which made him stagger backwards. Before the blonde could recover the cloud guardian rushed him again, this time pinning him to the adjacent wall.

"What are you going to do now, Herbivore?" Hibari asked while slowly pushing on his opponent's collar bone with one of his tonfa.

He paused, expecting an answer but didn't get one. When his student started to fight back he continued.

"It's useless to struggle. You're too weak, so it's just best for you to give up now."

As the raven haired male spoke these words Vero slowly lowered his head and when he'd finished the blonde glared up at his mentor. Hibari looked bewildered for a second then swiftly backed up just in time only to dodge the strongest of energy pulses that emanated from the young Cavallone boss. A strong gust then followed - one so strong Hibari had to shield his face from it.

Once everything died down he met the gaze of his student who had a deeply intense look in his eyes. That wasn't the most shocking part though, as Vero had finally found his resolve and as a result his ring and tonfa were now engulfed in sky flames. He could only retain the flames for a minute however before they died down and disappeared.

"Whoa," he then uttered, sounding quite impressed as he examined his ring and weapon, still feeling the residual power emanating from them. "Did I just…?"

He trailed off just as the sound of applause started coming from the elevator.

"Congratulations Cavallone," Gokudera announced with a smirk after he had stopped clapping and then entered the room. "You've found your resolve, thus igniting your Dying Will Flames."

"Not by himself," Hibari interjected sternly. "Obviously the boy couldn't get anywhere without a push."

"And I'm grateful you were able to comply and fill that role." The storm guardian stated in reply.

The cloud guardian then yawned with indifference before turning to leave. "My job here is done. I'm leaving the rest to you now."

Once he had left Vero turned to Gokudera with crossed arms. "So you set all this up then?" He asked almost snarkily.

"You upset that I did?"

"No," the young Cavallone boss answered. "This was way better than me getting frustrated from trying on my own."

"So I have to admit I'm curious to know what your resolve might be." The storm guardian asked, casually changing the subject. "Care to share what it is?"

"It's a bit difficult to explain but I guess I could say that while fighting Hibari-san I realized more than anything I wanted to be much stronger so that I can protect those I hold dear," Vero replied before pausing briefly.

"I also…had to let go of the regret I felt from being unable to protect anyone back then…"

A short silence then fell and after a minute the blonde remembered the box animal and pulled it out of his pocket.

His mentor watched him do so and asked, "You gonna open it?"

The young Cavallone boss showed some hesitation in doing so, unsure of how the animal would react to his flames.

Gokudera sensed this and continued, "I'm not saying you should. If you're not comfortable or confident you don't have to open it now. I'm curious to see what it is exactly though, aren't you?"

Vero thought for a moment and his curiosity won over in the end. He lifted the box, ignited his ring effortlessly this time, and then fed the box his flame through the singular hole in it. After he pulled the ring away the box quivered and opened.

A glowing bright orange light shot out of the box into the air and an elegant sounding bird call followed as it flew around the room before alighting on the floor in front of them.

The light then faded, revealing the box animal as an extravagant male phoenix. He stood about three feet tall and had sparkling gold, red, and orange feathers that made it look like he was made of flames.

From the moment he landed he had his gaze trained on Vero and he finally squawked while bowing his head to his owner elegantly with gratitude.

"This box animal…is really mine?" The blonde asked incredulously, finding it hard to believe as he watched the phoenix groom himself.

As if to answer his question the bird then unexpectedly jumped up and landed on his shoulder before starting to gently groom his hair.

"I think that confirms it." Gokudera replied with a light chuckle. "What are you gonna name him then?"

The young Cavallone quickly shot his mentor a questioning gaze. "You named yours?"

"Everyone does. They function as partners so wouldn't it be right to name him?"

After hearing his mentor's reply Vero turned to gaze at the phoenix for a moment, coming up with the perfect name rather quickly.

"I think…I'll name him…Ciro*."

*Ciro means "Like the Sun" in Italian